SANTA CLARA, CA - NOVEMBER 05: Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers warms up before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium on November 5, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

Photo: Lachlan Cunningham, Getty Images

A year removed from preaching patience, the 49ers are pleading for perspective.

That’s what happens when a brick-by-brick rebuilding project begins with the first 0-9 start in franchise history and ends with the NFL’s only 5-0 regular-season finish in 2017.

Yes, the 49ers open camp Wednesday after a bizarre season. It included a last-place finish in the NFC West, fewer wins than 21 teams and yet has produced great expectations for 2018.

As bemused head coach Kyle Shanahan noted at the NFL combine: “The way to get people to feel good about 6-10 is to start 0-9.”

Those words got the attention, but Shanahan finished the quote by noting 6-10 “was still our record and we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

It’s a message Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have maintained during the offseason as they work to erase complacency from a franchise that was resurrected overnight by apparent franchise QB Jimmy Garoppolo.

Garoppolo has fast-tracked the rebuilding project, but the 49ers aren’t a finished product.

Can Garoppolo prove he’s among the elite?

He’s played like a marquee quarterback and he’s being compensated like one ($137.5 million for five years), and now Jimmy Garoppolo can prove that he belongs among the best at his position.

Some suggest he’s already earned that distinction after turning a dumpster fire into a diamond last year, but it’s premature to anoint someone with seven career starts and 272 pass attempts.

Garoppolo passes the eye test — yes, on and off the field — but it’s worth noting the QB with the perfect record wasn’t flawless last year, throwing six touchdown passes and five interceptions in his five starts.

In addition, there is the matter of his durability, which hasn’t been tested by a 16-game season. Garoppolo has already failed to finish one of his starts — a shoulder injury knocked him out of his second career start in 2016 — and he missed a few offseason practices with the Patriots with a calf injury in 2017.

Sound like nitpicking? That’s probably fair, but that small sample size means Garoppolo still has to prove he’s worth that big contract.

Can Foster stay out of headlines … and on the field?

Inside linebacker Reuben Foster nearly fell out of the first round of the 2017 draft because of concerns about his character and medical file.

A year later, those concerns haven’t been allayed.

In this May 30, 2018, file photo, San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster walks on the field during a practice at the team's NFL football training facility in Santa Clara.

Photo: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press

Foster will serve a season-opening, two-game suspension stemming from two offseason arrests that included a weapons charge in one. When he returns to the field, he will aim to prove he can stay on it after missing six games last year with injuries and briefly leaving several others because of shoulder stingers.

The good news: Foster, who had shoulder surgery before the 2017 draft, erased any concerns about his football ability. Despite being sidelined, he ranked second on the team in tackles (72) and was named to the NFL’s All-Rookie team.

He appears destined to become a defensive anchor, but his health and decision-making will determine if that potential will be realized.

Is the new cornerback the same old guy?

He has knowledge, charisma and leadership skills, but does Richard Sherman have anything left in the tank?

At 30, the All-Pro cornerback has a surgically repaired Achilles tendon that prevented him from participating in the offseason program, meaning he couldn’t start trying to silence his skeptics before this summer.

Sherman, the 49ers’ arch antagonist when he played for the Seahawks, has filled a leadership void on a young defense by enthusiastically embracing his mentor role.

Those intangibles shouldn’t be dismissed, but his signing will be deemed a bust if he doesn’t approach his previous form. The 49ers are hopeful, but realistic: For proof, look no further than Sherman’s incentive-laden contract, which included just $3 million fully guaranteed at signing.

Who will provide the pass rush?

The 49ers don’t have a player on their roster with more than 10 career sacks, and no player had more than three sacks in 2017. In the offseason, after posting the sixth-fewest sacks in the NFL last season, they only made minor moves to address what appears to be a major issue: They gave Cassius Marsh a contract extension and signed former Chargers pass-rusher Jeremiah Attaochu.

San Francisco 49ers defensive end Cassius Marsh (54) against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Photo: Rick Scuteri / AP

No 49er has had a 10-sack season since 2012, and that streak may be extended without the presence of a dominant edge rusher. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has acknowledged the lack of star power.

So what’s the plan? Saleh has discussed a committee approach, with former first-round picks Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner and Solomon Thomas generating more pressure inside.

“Not every team has a Joey Bosa or a Von Miller, where they can just take a complete game over,” Saleh said. “But there’s a lot of teams that have four really good rushers and they are very effective rushing the passer. And that’s what we’re trying to build to be.”

Can McKinnon justify that contract?

The 49ers are paying a career backup like a big-name player, which raises the question: What do they see in Jerick McKinnon, 26, the running back who will earn $11.7 million guaranteed this season after averaging 3.7 yards a carry last season with the Vikings?

Kyle Shanahan has raved about McKinnon’s versatility, and he clearly envisions a do-it-all role for him that echoes the way Shanahan utilized Devonta Freeman in Atlanta.

Freeman, a 2014 fourth-round pick, had the only 1,000-yard rushing seasons of his career with Shanahan as his offensive coordinator in 2015 and 2016. And he’s one of many players who had career-best seasons with Shanahan calling plays, a list that includes quarterback Matt Schaub (led NFL in passing yards in 2009) and running back Alfred Morris (second in NFL in rushing yards in 2012).

Will McKinnon join that group in 2018? The 49ers are very much banking on it.

Eric Branch has worked at the San Francisco Chronicle since 2011 as the 49ers beat writer. Before that, he covered the 49ers for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat in 2010. Since he began his career in journalism in 1997 in Logansport, Ind., he’s covered events ranging from archery tournaments to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.